Advances in the design of medical devices such as balloon catheters, guide wires and stents have greatly improved the quality of medical care. Many of the advances in medical devices have been in the area of coatings for medical devices. Coatings can provide a wide range of design options and related advances in performance for the medical device. For example, advances in coatings have lead to better lubricity and wettability, passivity against protein absorption, antimicrobial properties, drug delivery, biocompatibility and hemocompatibility for the medical device.
Polymeric coatings have been used to modify the surfaces of medical devices. Polymeric coatings can be chemically, mechanically and physically tailored to produce the desired combination of properties and have found use for nonthrombogenic, lubricous, anti-microbial and protective purposes. Such materials can be applied to devices from solvent, from aqueous solution or from the vapor phase. Alone, in combination, or as carriers for active pharmaceutical ingredients, polymeric coatings continue to enable an ever-expanding market for implantable medical devices.
There is, however, a need for further advances in the design and implementation of coatings for use with medical devices.